10 / அயோத்திதாசர் சிந்தனைகள்
powerful and began to demolish the Mahtams, burning all the sacred books containing Lord Buddha's teachings they could get hold of. Not satisfied with this they began to chase the Dravidian monks and their followers hooting at them, calling them Paraiahs and instructing their followers to treat them contemptuously and to deny them shelter in their places.
When I read the above interpretation by Aswakosa that the so miscalled Paraiahs were once followers of the Buddhist Dharma, I began to search through the literatures of these so-called Paraiahs to try and discover whether they had made any mention of Buddha. Not only did I find that the word Puthagam is given to the book that contains the teachings of Buddha; but I found also in the books Kooral, Auttichevadi and Konraivendan which teach moral lessons, in Chintamani, Cilappadhigaram, Velayapathi, Koondalakesi and Manimegalai, the five Kavyams, in Tholkappiyam, Agatyiam and nannulu, the grammars and in the 12 Nighandoos, etc. that the authors touch upon the Buddha Gnanam and that the introductory stanza of each of their works contains an ascription to Buddha. From these, it is evident that the so termed Paraiahs were formerly of the Buddhist faith. The medical and other works compiled by Agastya, Bogur, Poolipani, Thanvendari, etc. were in their possession in manuscripts till the introduction of printing when they were published to the world. Not only were our people in possession of these works, but they also studied Arunkalai known as Bhagavatgita, the teachings of the first Buddha, and they practised Yogasathanum.
From the above facts, it is clear to us that our people once professed Buddhism, and now it is our heartfelt desire that we should be shown how to return to our old Buddhist faith only in its primitive purity. We have been planning to form a society under the designation of Dravida Buddha Sangam and through its instrumentality to bring out pamphlets monthly which will show the teachings of the Lord Buddha as found in the literature of Buddhism and to circulate them as widely as possible.
For thus alone we believe, can we hope to restore our self-respect and to gain that right, to win by our own exertions, domestic comforts and untrammeled personal liberty of action, which are denied us in the Hindu social system of caste, under the weight of which we are now and for many centuries have been crushed into the dust.
I, therefore, at the request of all the educated men of my community, humbly beg that you will be pleased to patronize our undertakings and show us how we may accomplish our blameless object Madras, Rayapettah I am, etc.
8th June, 1898.
Yours Obediently
(From Journal of the Mahabodhi Society, Vol. vii, No.3, pp.23-24.)
3. புத்தர் என்னும் இரவு பகலற்ற ஒளி
சற்குரு தியானம்
குன்றாத மனபாக்கியமும் மேலான மகத்துவமும், வந்தனை உடையவும் ஞானிகள் யாவருக்கும் மகா ஞானியான புத்த சுவாமியை நமஸ்கரிக்கிறேன். புத்த சுவாமியை எங்கள் வழி காட்டியாய்த் துணைக்கொள்ளுகிறேன்.
